Device and method for destruction of cancer cells

Abstract

The present invention provides devices and systems, as well as methods, of electric field delivery and non-thermal or selective ablation of target tissue regions, including selective ablation of cancerous cells and solid tumors. A method of the present invention includes delivering an electric field to a tissue, including positioning an electrode within a target tissue region comprising cancerous cells, and applying an alternating electrical current to the target tissue so as to non-thermally ablate cancerous cells of the target tissue region around the electrodes.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS[0001]This application claims the benefit under 35 U.S.C. §119(e) of U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 825,660, filed Sep. 14, 2006, and U.S. Provisional Patent Application No. 60 / 863,484, filed Oct. 30, 2006, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.[0002]This application is related to U.S. Application No. 11 / 855,940, entitled “Ablation Probe With Deployable Electrodes,” filed on Sep. 14, 2007, and U.S. application Ser. No. 11 / 855,977, entitled “Tissue Ablation and Removal,” filed on Sept. 14, 2007, both of which are being filed concurrently herewith, the full disclosures of which are incorporated herein by reference.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]The present invention relates generally to electric field delivery to tissue regions. More specifically, the present invention relates to electric field delivery and non-thermal ablation of target tissue regions, including selective ablation of cancerous cells an...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0010]The present invention provides devices and related methods for applying low-intensity electric fields for selective cancerous cell destruction and non-thermal tissue ablation. Devices of the present invention will generally be designed to introduce an electrode or plurality of electrodes into a target tissue region and apply an electric field to the target tissue region. The electrode or plurality thereof is typically positioned such that the applied electric field radiates throughout the target tissue region, including, for example, where the electric field radiates outwardly and in a plurality of directions radially from a location within the target tissue or an electrode(s) positioned within the target tissue region. Additionally, the energy applied to the target tissue region can be selected such that electrically generated heat is minimized and elevations in tissue temperature can be avoided. In particular embodiments, the applied electric field is generally a low-intensity (e.g., less than about 50 V / cm) and intermediate frequency (e.g., between about 50 kHz and 300 kHz) alternating current field sufficient to provide low-power or non-thermal ablation of target cells. The electrode positioning and application of the electric field (e.g., low-power / non-thermal ablative electric field) of the present invention has demonstrated to be surprisingly effective in ablating cancerous cells without a thermal effect being a factor in the ablation process. Moreover, the ablative process according to the present invention primarily occurs among abnormally proliferating cells or cells exhibiting unregulated growth (e.g., cancerous cells). Thus, the present invention provides the additional advantage of providing minimally invasive, selective ablation or destruction of cancerous cells, while leaving normal cells or tissue substantially intact.

Problems solved by technology

In hyper-thermal tumor ablation techniques, high-frequency RF (e.g., “RF thermal ablation”) or microwave sources are used to heat tissue resulting in histological damage to the target tissue.

However, a significant limitation of RF induced, hyper-thermal ablation is the difficulty of localizing the heat-induced damage to targeted cancerous tissue while limiting histological damage and destruction to surrounding healthy, non-target tissue.

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